This refers to a set of customary rules about wine consumption, accompanied by toasts, songs, and folk theatrical performances. Three toasts are mandatory under the Križevci Statutes: to the homeland, to the fellowship of companions, and to the love. The songs belong to the wine-drinking canon known as Horvatska dobrovolja (Croatian Good Cheer), while the folk theater element features specific roles: the stoloravnatelj (master of the table), fiškuš and oberfiškuš (stewards/servers), barilonosac (wine-barrel bearer), govorač (orator), kantušminister or popevač (song leader/singer), vunbacitel (bouncer), and the male and female companions (pajdaši and pajdašice), who are further categorized into seniors, juniors, and newcomers. Participants must adhere to the wine statutes. Failure to do so results in penalties known as štrofovi (punishments) connected with wine. The statutes are observed during seasonal or work-related customs, or at any time the fellowship decides to gather and make merry over a glass of wine, following the prescribed roles and rules.
Famous writers wrote about statutes
Due to their name, these rules are associated with the town of Križevci, although they are known throughout Croatia, particularly in the northwestern region. Originating in folk tradition and recorded in the 19th century, their content, embedded in both high and low culture, oral and written traditions, and urban and rural life, has always been thematically intriguing. Consequently, famous Croatian writers, such as August Šenoa, Ksaver Šandor Gjalski, Antun Gustav Matoš and others, have featured the Štatuti (Statutes) in their literary works. The first complete edition of the Križevački štatuti was compiled and published by Zvonimir Pužar in 1912. Since then, the edition has been reprinted continuously, alongside private and public performances of the Statutes that have experienced various ups and downs over the years. They were revitalized in 2014 with the founding of the Society for the Preservation of the Križevci Heritage Križevački štatuti. In 2023, in collaboration with the City of Križevci and the company Prigorski Media, under the editorship of Tanja Baran, the Society published a new edition of the Križevački štatuti, accompanied by the Hižni protokoli (Household Protocol) and Pajdaška legitimacija (Comrade’s ID Card).
This edition was also published in 2024 as a supplement to the popular-science monograph Croatian Wine Culture by Tanja Baran. The Križevački štatuti Society, currently led by Siniša Katavić who is serving his second term as president, has also organized five national competitions for Croatian wine photography to date. Due to their antiquity, continuity, and enduring relevance today, the Križevački štatuti (Križevci Statutes) are recognized as a centuries-old tradition. They represent the most famous set of Croatian wine-related social rules, lesser-known and shorter sets of regulations drawn upon them from other towns and regions such as the Koprivničke regule, Varaždinski fureš, Krapinski vandrček, Turopoljski štatuti, Zagrebačka puntarija, Ivanečka smešancija and Svetojanska lumparija. Also associated with this tradition is the Grand Ritual of the Baptism of Must, performed throughout Croatia around St. Martin's Day on November 11th.